Category Archives: cycling accidents

RisCassi & Davis is home to passionate cyclists. We not only ride – but we support cycling events and organizations like the Jim Calhoun Ride for Lifesaving Research and Care and Bike Walk Connecticut.

Connecticut has long been known as a state that is somewhat unfriendly to cyclists, in large part due to arcane, car-centric state traffic laws .

Hopefully that is all about to change.

Reform legislation has just passed both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly and is on its way to Governor Malloy’s desk for his signature. The new statute will remove restrictions to things like two-way bike tracks or lanes and give bicyclists more leeway to shift out into traffic lanes for safety reasons.

Many of us at RisCassi & Davis are active walkers, runners and cyclists and we also work hard to defend walkers, runners and cyclists across the state. Many of us are also UConn graduates. For the past eight years, we have taken this passion and served as the Presenting Sponsor of Coach Calhoun’s annual ride and walk to support medical research at UConn Health. To date, over $2 million has been raised for this purpose. We are proud to say that over $250,000 of that has been raised by the lawyers and staff in our office!

This year’s event – the Jim Calhoun Ride and Walk for Lifesaving Research and Care – is an event Coach Calhoun created because Federal and State dollars, as well as corporate support for important, cutting edge medical research and care has been declining for years at academic health centers across America.

The 2015 Jim Calhoun Ride and Walk for Lifesaving Research and Care will take place on May 30th and will start and finish at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford. The event will feature rides of 15, 30 and 62 miles and a 5K walk, and as the day ends, there will be a celebratory cookout for all participants. Ninety cents of every dollar contributed by riders and walkers and their supporters will go directly to the cause and every UConn Health department will be eligible to receive funds.

All funds raised by the Jim Calhoun Ride and Walk for Lifesaving Research and Care will specifically benefit the UConn Health Research and Discovery Fund – a fund to support research aimed at curing disease and improving human health.

Each of us at RisCassi & Davis is proud to be a part of this important endeavor and commend Coach Calhoun for his decades of support of UConn Health.

We’ve written a lot about the dramatic rise in the number of children walking to school who are hit by drivers in September each year.

Children riding their bikes to school are also at a higher risk of injury in September and for the same reason. They are traveling in congested areas during peak traffic at a time when drivers have not adjusted to having them back on the roads.

As the weather warms – cyclists are taking to Connecticut roadways in growing numbers.

Did you know that in this state, car and truck drivers must stay a safe distance from all cyclists they meet on the road? This law, enacted in 2008, states: “safe distance means not less than three feet when the driver of a vehicle overtakes and passes a person riding a bicycle.” Failure to do so can lead to fines. Connecticut is currently one of twenty-two states with this requirement.

The most recent U.S. traffic data shows pedestrian fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes rose 4.2%. In addition, pedestrian injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes increased by 19% from the previous year – all this according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Sadly – U.S. roads were designed with cars in mind – not pedestrians.

So how can we significantly reduce the incidence of pedestrian injuries? Perhaps emerging technology offers part of the answer.